Sorry I have been all incognito lately folks. Closing on a House, Moving, Unpacking and one of my best friends is getting married this weekend. A Wedding that I am in, so combined with getting behind at work, it is what it is. Just wanted to apologize.

No need for apologies. Life always gets in the way of blogging. Damn life.

From what I remember, you were the one that stirred the pot last time with a write up about Cushing. But now things are diferent, not a lot of hostility left against the pick.
Im not praising Cushing yet, but he definitely deserves a lot of credit about his his above average level of play. (Against the run at least)

Good luck with all the shit you have to take care of man. I’ll have a beer or two in your honor. And im definitely looking forward to more posts from you once all that stuff is done.

I’m gonna add some thoughts.

I am among those not yet ready to open the Brian Cushing Wing at the Football Hall of Fame. Do we not remember Okoye’s first four games?

He’s still very poor in pass coverage, and he’s a part of the problem with our run defense. His on-field discipline has not been great, either, whether it’s over-pursuit or the fact he should’ve been flagged twice for roughing penalties against the Raiders.

BUT, as Mike says, his ceiling is very high. All of the above are fixable and, quite frankly, are nothing more than rookie mistakes. He’s probably already the best SLB in team history, which is, sadly, a lot like being the tallest midget.

Along with only DeMeco, Mario, and Quin(!!!), he can actually…you know…tackle. And his closing speed against the rush is fantastic. One of my greatest concerns, especially after watching him at USC, was his tackling form. It’s simply outstanding as a pro. He’s gone a long way toward proving me wrong. But, just as it’d be premature to call him a bust after four games if he wasn’t playing well, it’s premature to call him TEH BESTEST LINEBAKER EVAR!!! today.

The player of the game on Sunday was Antonio Smith. He was incredibly disruptive all game. I deserve about as much credit for the safety as does Cushing. It was Smith, Okoye, and Quin (my goodness I’m liking this guy) who pushed the o-line back four yards.

As the d-line plays better, our LBs will look better. That synergy was at work on Sunday, but we also had Pollard in the box all game. That’s what’ll make the Cards game an incredible test. Did we actually take a step forward last week? Or did nine drops and nine in the box make us look better than we really are?

Remember: the Cards are the first even average offensive squad we’ve seen this year. The other four suck except when they played us.